Something profound

So much for the week to week commentary about me and the weather, although the temperature is getting into the high 20s this holiday weekend and one should be outside enjoying it.
Anyway, I thought I'd take a new route and try to say some profound stuff where I'm touting myself as a founder.
Let's start with the question of the day, why do people run? Good question, eh?
A friend of mine said he thought about getting into running, but commented that any runners he saw weren't smiling, so that doesn't look like any fun.
Somebody asked my 92 year old father if he ever did any running and he said, "no, we always stood there and fought".
When Armstrong the moon walker was asked about running, he said, "you only get so many heartbeats in a life time, so why waste them on running".

So, what might we learn from this? Well for me, I'm not a fighter, so I'll keep running and if I run properly* my heart will become more efficient and beat less. But, I too have lots to do on the smiling side. Maybe I'll start by clowning it up and make someone laugh along the way and maybe I'll smile too.

*my discipline in this regard is Chi Running. Check it out at: www.chirunning.com

Summertime activities

With summertime weather approaching, it's a good time to get into a mix of activities that are conduicive to the warmer weather and can help the motivation. For me, it's a mix of biking, hiking, kayaking and running. It was with that thought in mind that I introduced a fun event to kick off preparations for the fall KVC Marathon/Relay. On the first Sunday of June, people are invited to the Bikaru:
The annual Bikaru this year goes on Sunday June 6th.
The 3 part event(10k run, 25k bike, 7k kayak) is an intro to the course for the KVC Marathon. Participants can do it all, do it as a team or just do one leg.

- The day concludes with a noon hour barbecue on the wharf at Renforth.

This event is sponsored by the KVC Marathon and River Bay Adventures at no charge.
- Monitoring services for bikes in Hampton and kayaks in Rothesay will be provided.
Register with River Bay Adventures: riverbayadventures@gmail.com

Check out either www.kvcmarathon.com or www.riverbayadventures.com for updates

So, for anyone reading, spread the word and come for a different and fun experience.

Post race analysis

The 2010 running of the Fredericton Marathon is now history and history was made with Chris Brake setting a new course record of 2:34:30. For me, the history is that I beat my half marathon goal of 1:55 with a 1:53:24. So, I now have motivation to continue and look to a fall marathon. But, as said, first things first and that is to get my diet and weight into sync. I've set up a tracking mechanism using the Canada Food Guide.

So far it's been a process of monitoring my present diet and looking to improve it with changes in food choices and/or supplements. Already I'm seeing that my current diet has too much sugar. So, my first step is to substitute some of my processed foods with natural choices.

Hopefully these suttle changes on a gradual basis will get me where I need to be. Stay tuned.

The weigh in

It's the night before my first race of the season and I just did the 'weigh in'. Not a surprise, but I'm about 15 lbs over my fighting weight. Needless to say that's going to be a factor tomorrow. However, it's also going to tell me that I need to take this opportunity to assess this aspect of my condition and in turn check my diet. So, on Monday I'll roll out the Canada Food Guide and do an assessment. My goal would be to take off 10lbs in three months and then prepare for a fall marathon. The rational behind this order of things is that it is best to trim the weight from a diet adjustment first rather than through the extra running in a marathon preparation.

Running culture

It's the first week of May and already the season seems like its going too fast. I mowed the lawn yesterday and will soon be complaining about that ongoing task of mowing and trying to appreciate the beauty of the dandelion. Having said that, why don't I turn this around and look at it from a different perspective. The dandelion is one of the most resilient of plants. After the drab colors of winter the sea of yellow it provides is somewhat uplifting. On a practical side it puts down an amazing root tuber that could be used for a vegetable. The top of the plant has potential for a salad green and the basis for a wine if so inclined. So as they say, it's what you make of it that counts.

The culture of running and the events that support the activity are much like this. Take the Fredericton Marathon for example. It's the first of the main events in the maritimes and it will bring out a sea of colorful runners that will cover the streets and trails of Fredericton. I've run Fredericton numerous times and have had some good runs and some tough ones as well. Fredericton has had numerous courses over the years and their amenities vary also, so one is never sure what to expect. For the runners who put down a good root in preparation for the event, they will feel well about the experience and may even taste the wine. For those like me, who are not so well prepared we could be prone to comment on the amenities or lack of rather than the rewards of the personal experience of being one of many dandelion runners who will brighten up the Fredericton landscape for a brief but hopefully notable time.